A smart man learns from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. If you know the mistakes people have made and their consequences, there’s really no need to experience the same pain right. In fact, doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the very definition of insanity. Reason why, we’ll share the most common mistakes youths tend to make in this article. We previously shared 10 Common mistakes single men make and 10 Common mistakes single women make which we recommend you to watch; very important. If you desire to be successful and achieve your goals, you need to avoid making these 10 mistakes:
1. Procrastination
“I will do it tomorrow”, “Let me just watch one more episode…”, or “I will start at the right time” are some of the lies we tell ourselves just to avoid doing what we’re afraid to do. We keep pushing things to a “tomorrow” that never arrives. Procrastination is the thief of time. We tend to procrastinate out of fear and laziness. Maybe you’re afraid of failing if you start that business you’ve been talking about since last year. There’s no such a thing as the right time to start. If you wait for the right time, you’ll keep waiting for ever. The best time to start something was yesterday, the second best is today and the third is RIGHT NOW! Before you know it, the year will be over. Don’t waste any more time.
2. Entitlement
This is a very serious issue that we tend to do unconsciously. Entitlement is believing that you inherently deserve special treatment or privileges. It’s killing us silently. It’s because of entitlement that you think you deserve a raise when you’re not offering any additional value. It’s because of entitlement that you see people calling themselves prophets and declaring prophecies just to make themselves relevant. It’s because of entitlement that Cameroonians felt that they deserved to win the AFCON 2021. That’s why people insulted the team on social media instead of encouraging them after the match against Egypt.
It’s because of entitlement that you won’t appreciate the little things your spouse, girlfriend or boyfriend does just because you think you deserve such treatment. This often leads to ungratefulness, contempt and eventually the loss of relationships. Instead of feeling entitled, you should be grateful and content with what you have. Value and appreciate the people in your life. It will strengthen your relationships.
3. Spending all your money
You knew money had to be part of this list right! Social media has made narcissism to blow up so big that it is now the norm. It’s all about status games. Youths will do anything just to look successful. That includes spending the little money they have to buy liabilities that they don’t need. You can never win the status game. It only leads to depression. There will always be someone who will have something more impressive than yours and you’ll want that too. Poor people remain poor by trying to look rich, but the rich get richer by living like the poor. Don’t waste your money on things that don’t matter. Save your money and invest it. If you’re new in investing, check out our article 7 Rules of Investing Money to help you out. Also, consider learning about these 10 things you need to stop wasting money on.
4. Trying to please others
One of the reasons that youths spend all their money is to please others. Trying to please others is an uphill battle that you can’t win. In fact, if you try to please others, you will only make yourself unhappy. It’s impossible to please people. You can’t satisfy people. There will always be something wrong that you did according to them. Your focus should be doing the right thing; as long as you’re glorifying God in what you do, it really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. There are occasions when you can do something to please your loved ones, or your spouse. However, that shouldn’t comprise who you are or your values.
5. Not sleeping enough
Most people have no idea of how important getting good quality sleep is. Some people have distorted sleep cycles. Close to half of all Americans feel sleepy during the day for 3 – 7 days in a week. According to Sleep Foundation, 35.2% of adult Americans sleep for less than 7hours in a day which is not enough. Adults aged 18 – 64 need 7 – 9 hours of sleep every night. For those above 64, it ranges from 7 – 8 hours. You really can’t cheat nature. If you don’t rest well, you’ll pay the sleep debt sooner or later. That’s why you probably feel sleepy most of the time. Your body needs at least 7 hours of sleep to function productively.
6. Spending too much time on Social Media
According to Statista, as of 2020, the average time spent on social media per day was 145 minutes That’s close to two and a half hours. That’s an increase from 142 minutes in 2019. Is that really a good use of your time? What usually results from that is unhappiness and depression. According to Child Mind Institute, several studies show that users who spend the most time on social media report much higher rates of depression from about 13 – 66%! Social media is full of people’s fake lives and fake standards that you tend to unconsciously try to measure up to. All of that comparison only makes you feel worse. It’s all about likes and followers now without any real value being offered. Why would you spend hours scrolling from one status to the next? Do you know what you could’ve done with that time? The only reason why you should be on social media is if you have a business running on social media. Social media should be used as a distraction and not as a solution to your problems.
7. Talking too much
Do you know that talking too much decreases the value of your words? There are people who spend time telling others things that they don’t need to know. Let me not even get started about gossiping. If someone gossips to you about another, just know that they will gossip about you to another. You shouldn’t entertain gossiping. It takes discipline to keep one’s opinions to themselves. It also gives you more power. Listen more and talk less. Be careful about what comes out of your mouth. Once you say something, there’s no taking it back. The damage caused by a slip of the tongue could last for years. You should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to getting angry.
8. Taking people’s opinions personal
If you take just anyone’s opinion seriously then you’ll be miserable. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and you need not take it personally. You should know that what people project are their own insecurities. You don’t need to respond to any and every negative comment. In fact, the best response in such cases is no response at all. You can tell when someone just wants to provoke you or start a pointless argument. The moment you respond, you’ve given that person the power. Does it mean that all opinions don’t have some truth to it? Absolutely not! There are times when you should consider critiques to improve your work or yourself. It should only be for the purpose of getting better. Don’t let their words bring you down. It doesn’t hurt to consider different perspectives. There are things that you don’t see that others do. Again, don’t take them personal.
9. Not seizing Opportunities
It is often said that success is when opportunity meets preparation. There are certain opportunities that come only once in life. There are people who have missed such golden opportunities because they weren’t prepared or they just didn’t take it seriously. Living in regret is one of the most painful ways to live. Did you know that Yahoo once had the opportunity to acquire Google for $1 million dollars? That’s right! However, they declined the offer and realized their error. They tried to acquire Google later for 3 billion dollars, but Google asked for 5 billion instead because of their status at the time. Yahoo still declined the offer and guess how much Google is worth today? About 1.7 trillion dollars as of January 2022. Talking about missed opportunities. Most people don’t remember this but Yahoo remembers and regrets it. Don’t be like Yahoo.
10. Eating too much fast food
You can’t eat unhealthy meals and expect to stay in shape. There has been an increase in the consumption of fast food over the years. Just in the United States, fast food restaurants experienced a 33% increase in visits from January 1st to April 30 2021. What happens when you consume a lot of fast food? It increases your chances of developing cancer, obesity, depression, heart disease, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions. According to the WHO, the rate of obesity worldwide has almost tripled since 1975. More than 1.9 billion adults (18 and above) were overweight in 2016, and 650 million of them were obese. The good news is that obesity is preventable. Your body deserves better. You just have to stop eating junk foods as your main meals and limit them to special occasions.
It's your turn to act now that you’re aware of these common mistakes. We know it can be challenging to avoid all of these, so if you need help, we’re here for you. Just schedule a coaching session with us via the link below.
Also, share this article with your loved ones to help them too. Are there other common mistakes that weren’t mentioned here which you know of? Please share them in the comments. Thank you for reading and until next time, BESTech remains your BEST bet.